SAFC announces opening of $30M expansion to Madison Manufacturing facility in Verona, Wisconsin

SAFC® (http://www.safcpharma.com), a member of the Sigma-Aldrich® Group (Nasdaq: SIAL), today announced the opening of a $30 million expansion to its Madison Manufacturing facility in Verona, Wisconsin. Designed to significantly increase the capacity to produce commercial scale High Potency Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (HPAPIs), the 51,000 sq. ft. expansion was unveiled at an official ceremony attended by Wisconsin State Governor Jim Doyle, Mayor Jon Hochkammer from the City of Verona and Secretary Dick Leinenkugel from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce.

The new facility complements SAFC's existing 63,000 sq. ft. HPAPI site in Madison and houses commercial scale reactors capable of producing HPAPI batch sizes up to 4,000 liters, which is up to 10 times greater than the capacity of the Madison site. Constructed specifically to support pharmaceutical manufacturers with their Phase III and commercial HPAPI needs, the Verona plant features the same state-of-the-art facility design and containment engineering as the Safebridge® certified Madison Facility on a larger scale.

The site is designed to maximize efficiencies and safe handling in high potency development and to adhere to Category IV standards, the highest guideline for HPAPI handling and containment. The facility includes state-of-the-art development laboratories, a 150-liter mini-processing plant and two large-scale cGMP manufacturing suites. Specially designed quality control laboratories, a potent compound packaging area and warehouse and office space, plus expansion space, are also featured in the building.

"With the High Potency market continuing to experience double-digit growth and ongoing significant advances in clinical pharmacology and oncology, there is a significant need for the large-scale production of HPAPIs," said Gilles Cottier, SAFC President. "This new facility represents a significant step toward addressing that market demand and supports SAFC's desire to maintain a leadership position in commercial scale High Potency manufacture."

At the opening ceremony Governor Doyle stated, "Sigma-Aldrich continues to invest significantly in the State of Wisconsin and we are delighted that they have chosen this location for what is a truly world class facility. I am also pleased that 45 to 50 jobs will ultimately be created as a result of its construction."